Family stories

Families and ordinary people’s history goes beyond ancestry research: there is a great number of available sources that can shed some light on the life and relationships of singular individuals. Among these sources, photographic and audiovisual material (such as films, interviews, etc), silent witnesses of family and social rites, individual and collective stories, allow us not only to give some sort of narrative dimension to ancestry research, but also to give tangible expression to the changes that the Italian society has undergone during the 20th century.

The Site presents sources collected by different entities (cultural institutions, media libraries, State Archives, universities, etc) that would help us keep alive the memory of the ways single individuals and collectives had represent themselves and the world around them.

The research of a person’s family background and history is a captivating and emotive experience and it may be exciting to share it with other people. It is why this Site provides a space to its users in which they will be able to tell, helped by texts and images, their own story and their own research experience. This will allow them to share their particular family history, and hearing about successful research strategies would help other users finding their own.